


The doors to my library are always open to you

by Dark_Ithil



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Laboratories, Libraries, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 22:19:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3305444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Ithil/pseuds/Dark_Ithil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bofur is the librarian at Erebor University and usually his days are slow and uneventful – who visits libraries these days when pads and e-books are available and give you easy access to information? But as of late Fili, a PhD student, started to drop into the library and Bofur is disturbed. At least things are quiet at his part-time job as a bartender... That is to say until his friend Bilbo Baggins, a lawyer, starts to bemoan his fate at the new case he has to work on for Thorin Durin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The doors to my library are always open to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Bofur can't bring himself to force out a certain student out of the library and Bilbo Baggins the lawyer is not amused. The two facts may or may not be connected in a relationship of cause and effect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here I start a new WIP, wish me luck and patience to see it through. I've never ever wrote a modern AU and have no idea where it came from.  
> Before you start, there are two warnings:
> 
> 1) while I know a lot about working in a lab, I have not a single clue how lawyers are faring, and what and how they are doing it, so Bilbo's work is mostly guessing games and what I've seen in Colombo TV series (not much) or read in the Discworld novels about the Watch (not really helpful). So please don't get offended at my mistakes.
> 
> 2) speaking about mistakes, the fic is not Beta-read, and I can catch only so much of them myself, so relax, forgive my spelling errors and try to enjoy this story.

Bofur glared at the clock, that damn stupid clock – surely it must be wrong! But no, he had checked the watch on his cellphone, again and again, and it was not in error. It clearly showed what time it was, and the time clearly said it was late, and as a result Bofur was late. Yet he still willed the clock not to slice another second off, not to go a moment forward in its accusing accuracy – why couldn't it freeze there for several (hundred-thousand-million) tick-tocks? But there was the long hand on the dial pointing at twenty minutes past the time he had to close the library. Bofur sighed.

On any normal day it would be all right, even welcome, for it would mean that his job was done and he was free to wander off. But tonight he had a problem... well, not a problem as such, just an interesting quirk in the routine of his life – there was someone else in the library. 

Sitting by a desk, covered in a heap of papers, a young man (a very attractive blonde young man) was reading some journals and making notes, and all in all giving an impression of someone who would go on gnawing at the articles forever if not interrupted. And Bofur was loath to disturb the lad. Reason number one was that he rather liked people who came to the library. There were so few of them these days. Hard to blame them, honestly, because the university provided access to scientific information and electronic library from anywhere on campus, and students preferred to read while sprawled on the grass outside, or sitting in a cafeteria. But it left the library deserted most of the time. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with the library, on the contrary – the University of Erebor was famous for its books and could afford to subscribe to all the journals the students and scientists working in the labs wished. Bofur was proud of the place he worked it, he loved the books, loved to hold them in his hands and couldn't live without the sound of a turning paper page. So naturally he wished more people where to visit the library even though it was less convenient than reading online. But hardly anyone bothered to come there. Except for one young man. 

The librarian squinted at the lad critically – he looked a bit older than most of the students, perhaps a young PhD? Whoever the blonde was, he had been coming here for the last couple of weeks and was making Bofur quite flustered. Now he was sitting at one of the desks, surrounded by various scientific journals and the lamp above the table cast an exceptional golden hue to his hair. It was possible Bofur had never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire life.

Which brought him to the number two reason why he didn't want to close the library today – he would have to _talk_ to the lad. And while Bofur was never shy on words – for heaven's sake he had a part-time job as a bartender – this time he was sure he would stutter and make a total fool of himself. 

Yet time was pressing, unmerciful thing that it was, soon he would be totally late and Bifur his cousin and a fellow bartender, would have to start the shift at the "Cozy Hat and Crazy Axe" alone.

Well, there was nothing to be done, so Bofur cursed, selected a random file to hid behind if worst came to worst, and marched to inform the late visitor that it was indeed late.

As he approached the reading figure, Bofur desperately thought of what to say – should he clear his voice and alert the young man of his presence or say something right away? He couldn't quite make a decision and ended up just hovering nearby without uttering a word. But the lad did pause at his writing and slowly lifted his head to look at the librarian. Then he smiled, "Yes?"

Bofur just blinked. The lad was wearing glasses! If Bombur, Bofur's shameless younger brother had been present, he would definitely call them the most dorkiest glasses to ever crawl out of the doom and gloom of a nerdy hole. But the librarian just thought they were charming, and _Oh, that smile!_

He couldn't help himself and smiled in return. 

The two stared at each other but then the librarian caught himself and announced, "We are closed."

The lad's eyes widened at that, he glanced at the clock and whistled softly. 

"Oh, sorry. I got engrossed in my research, sorry." Then he quickly jumped to his feet and started to shuffle through the notes and collect all the scattered journals. Bofur rushed to his aid and mentally kicked himself for being so thickheadedly crass, "No, no, it's okay."

They grabbed the same journal and pulled, then stopped and stared at each other.

The blond laughed at let go, "I am sorry I kept you waiting. Your day is over and you probably wanted to go home."

"No, no, that's fine, I got things to do," Bofur lied, then thought for a while and added, "You know, you can actually take these with you," gesturing to several of the books on the desk.

But the lad smiled and shook his head, "No, I can't get any piece and quiet anywhere but at the library. So I'd better come back tomorrow."

Bofur looked at the floor, cursing his stupid heart that started beating rapidly. He hadn't noticed that the young man sprouted a flush to his cheeks as well.

"Okay then, the library doors are always open." _Smooth, Bofur, really smooth._

The visitor thanked him and left.

Bofur closed the door and leant against it. Damn it all. He was always such a smooth talker – he was renowned for it. A real silver-tongued chap. Why, he was a bartender, he could persuade a man who had one too many it was not today's choice to hit his opponent in the nose just because they chose the wrong time to make a witty joke. And it was no trouble for him to convince that, really this drink should be the last one, and he meant the last one. Or that it was not such a splendid idea to consume alcohol if you were underage – and a bartender in a student's town was a hard job. But the point was that Bofur had no trouble communicating with other people. So why must he stutter when some blond guy with incredible green eyes behind dorky glasses smiled at him – why now of all times must Bofur be lost for words?!

He sighed then moved to close the library. As he put the final journal to its rightful place on a shelf he saw something under the table where the late visitor had been sitting.

The librarian crouched and picked the thing up. It turned out to be a pass to the Erebor University, forgotten in haste by its owner. It had a name.

Well now, Bofur grinned, the lad would definitely be back tomorrow morning. 

He closed the doors and hummed to himself. Fili Durin – wasn't it a lovely name?

***

Bofur was still humming when he was at the counter of the "Cozy Hat and Crazy Axe" bar. His cousin Bifur was a bit upset with him for being late, but quickly gave up and handed him an apron as Bofur kept grinning in response. 

Yet the librarian-now-bartender was not that much out of it to ignore a fact that his old friend had been lamenting about something or other for the last half an hour. 

"Have another drink, ya look like you need it," he offered and laughed as he got a stern look in reply.

"You're not listening to a word I say, are you?" a disgruntled looking Bilbo Baggins asked.

They were roommates when they studied in the university. And while Bofur was not certain what to choose as his major – natural science or linguistics, – Bilbo went for law without hesitation.

Bofur often wondered how this genteel and nice fellow could stand the harsh environment of the court of law. Bilbo always made an impression of a busy and fussy mother hen. A mother hen who didn't take no for an answer and could always give a piece of his mind for any misbehavior, but a mother hen none the less. But then his friend would get a calculating look in his eyes and ask you a question you hoped as hell would never ever be asked and Bofur reminded himself that impressions where never to be trusted and that physiognomy was not a proper theory, and really, the judges and prosecutors and other lawyers wouldn't know what hit them.

So that right now, under that good-natured but still disturbing scrutiny he had no chances but to give in, so Bofur laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry, I'm a bit distracted."

"I can see that," Bilbo acknowledged and pushed his empty glass for another round after all.

The bartender filled it with beer and handed it over.

"As I was saying," Bilbo continued rather sternly, "this interview for the job was awful."

"Oh, come on, ya got the job in the end, didn't ya?"

The lawyer guzzled the liquid and thumped down the glass, hard. "Yes, but did you know _why_ I got the job?"

Bofur shook his head.

"Maybe because they were impressed with my CV? But nooo, apparently," Bilbo said quite sourly, "because I filed my application under a _lucky number_!"

The bartender whistled. His friend was glaring and looking rather distressed at the world in general. But Bofur's mind kicked in, "Wait, wait. How did ya know that? Isn't it a secret or something how a company chooses an applicant?"

Mr. Baggins looked uncertain and shifted in his seat, "Lobelia told me," he finally mumbled.

"Honestly, ya know deter than to trust her!"

Bilbo just slumped down and thumped his forehead against the counter, "I know, I know. But why else would they choose me of all the people to work on a serious case such as this?"

"Maybe because ya're a good lawyer, and they know it?" the bartender offered.

Bilbo glared at him from his slumped position, "You don't even know who "they" you are talking about."

Bofur shrugged and mixed a drink for another customer who hailed him, "Some rich bugger who wants to get a company from another rich bugger."

"No, no," the lawyer protested, though he did laugh at the summary, "the case is much more subtle."

"Are ya even allowed to talk about it? Isn't it confidential or something?"

Bilbo looked at Bofur as if he suddenly spouted not only a second head, but that second head had snakes instead of hair and each one of them was hissing and asking for a smoke. Then he laughed, "Only you, Bofur, only you could say that. Actually, everyone knows about this case – it was in news so many times that even green things on the walls know about it. But you..." and he chuckled again.

"Hey, I'd like to point out that I read news just fine."

Bilbo rolled his eyes, "Yes, but only about NASA stuff and genetic engineering."

It was time for Bofur to roll his eyes, "Genetic engineering is boring."

But his friend just snorted and asked if he wanted to know about the details of the case or not. The bartender nodded encouragingly.

"Well, this big company, "The Lonely Mountain", used to be family business until the grandfather of the current head of the company made some deals. Unwise deals as it turned out to be, and now the biggest shareholder is not one of the family, but an outside man, Mr. Smaug. And I," Bilbo pointed at himself, "am chosen to argue the case and win the company back to the family."

The bartender twirled his moustache, "Don't know, it doesn't sound very subtle to me."

"Well," Mr. Baggins admitted, "it is just a rough outline... And they say," he added darkly, "that Thorin Durin is quite a handful to work for."

Bofur chocked, "Durin?" and as Bilbo looked at him curiously, he added, "Is it a common surname?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

But Bilbo leaned closer, "Oh no, Bofur, I know you, it is definitely not just _nothing_." His eyes were gleaming and damn it all, there was that insistent look to him that Bofur hated, it meant he wouldn't be able to get away easily. 

"Well... I've found a pass in the library belonging to someone with this surname."

Bilbo's brows went high, "A student? Maybe someone of the family?"

Bofur just shrugged and went to serve another drink. 

The rest of the evening he hardly managed to talk to Bilbo – the bar was filling up and everyone wanted a drink, but his thoughts kept racing to the blond young man and his pass. The lad would have to come for it if he wanted to move freely through the buildings of the university, many of the doors and heck some of the elevators required a magnetic lock in the pass to function. But what if the blond belonged to a rich family? Did it make him unattainable for the likes of him? Bofur cursed and shook his head – what the hell was he thinking about? The lad was a stranger, he hardly knew him, it was silly and unreasonable to get such notions. 

Besides, that Fili Durin was probably a boring know-it-all, with such dorky glasses. Even though they were quite charming.

_\- TBC -_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know, I really don't know where I found this idea. But here it is and I hope you liked the start. Oh, Bofur is in for some fun, as is Bilbo.


End file.
